The Path That Led To Here
by TheCocoQueen
Summary: Dr. Alarice Rockbell never planned to get involved with the military. However, her plans changed after her role in the Ishval Civil War. After that one decision, it led her down a path that would take her through hardships. Many challenges lay in front of her, but at the end of the path is a life with a man who she fell for and with a family she made from a group of unqiue people.
1. The War

Coco: Hello to all who decided to give this story a chance. My name is CocoGirlRevised, but I was formally known as ChocolateIsMyWeakness. This is my first try at a FMA fanfiction, and I ask if you please, go easy on the reviews. I don't mind constructive criticism. Just no flames, please. Anyway this is a Roy/OC story, and it starts in the future before dropping back into the Ishvalan war. Some things might be a bit different compared to how things went in the canon, and I hope that doesn't bother you all too much. Also, I am basing this off the 2009 remake of FMA since it's closer to the manga.

I hope you enjoy.

OH! And I don't known Full Metal Alchemist. Just this story, and my OC Alarice Rockbell and any other OCs I might add.

* * *

Music played softly in the house of the Führer as a young woman was rocking in a rocking chair set by the large window that gave her a view of outside. The woman had a content smile on her face as she hummed along with the music while rocking her young son in her arms. The young boy, who was going to be turning five soon, had dark hair like his father, but inherited his mother's blue eyes. Her beloved baby boy who she never saw herself having nearly two decades ago. She didn't see herself having her other two children-Diedrick and Isolde-either, who were off somewhere in the house playing, but she was happy to have them.

She had never pictured her as the wife of the Führer either. She had never cared much for the military in her younger years. She hadn't wanted anything to do with them, but then she had been pulled into their war with Ishval. Well, she wasn't exactly pulled against her will to become involved in the war. She followed her brother into the war, but not to fight. No, she went to help the injured whether they were people of Amestris like herself or Ishval.

In that war she met the man that would later become her husband. Of course, if you went back in time to tell her younger self that then she'd laugh in your face. The woman chuckled knowing she and her husband didn't exactly have a smooth start after their first meeting. She had thought of him as some arrogant man who only cared about getting promotions as a way to seem important. Well, she hadn't been completely wrong about the arrogant part. Not to mention he acted like quite the womanizer. Though he had showed her that he wasn't completely swallow, which ended with her coming to work for him. Though she hadn't been pleased much with him even then. No, her past self would definitely tell you there was no way in a million years that she'd ever consider to marry _that_ man even if she did see him as a friend of sorts back then.

"And yet here I am his wife and the mother of his children." She said to herself as she chuckled once more. "Life sure is funny sometimes."

Not that she regrets her decisions that led her here. There had been many hardships. There had been times where she had felt she couldn't go on, but that man never let her give up…and he never gave up on her. He could be quite stubborn, and when he wants something, he works to get it. Despite all those hardships, she would do it all over again if it meant having the life she has now because she can't imagine being any happier.

"You seem to be happy today, sweetheart." A deep and familiar voice said from behind her.

She turned her head with the smile on her face widening when she saw her husband had returned from work. He grinned at her in return as he took his hat off his head. He walked over to her and their youngest son to lean down, and place a kiss on her temple then gently stroke their son's head.

"Welcome home, dear." She said sweetly as she kissed his cheek in return then gave him a teasing grin. "We've been waiting for you, and you kept us waiting long as usual. Sweet Klaus fell asleep as we waited. Then Diedrick and Isolde ran off tired of sitting here keeping me company."

Roy Mustang looked lovingly at his sleeping son while still thinking it was a bit unreal he was married let alone with three children. He never could have saw this coming back in the day.

"I'm sorry, Alarice." Roy apologized. "Busy day, but I promise to take tomorrow off to spend with you and the children."

Alarice smiled at her husband while quite liking the idea of having Roy home all day. It has felt like a long time since they got to spend a whole day together like a family.

"Now what were you thinking about that had you smiling so brightly when I walked into the room?" Roy asked curiously.

"About the choices we made and paths we took that led us here." Alarice said honestly as she looked down at the still sleeping Klaus. "Do you remember, Roy? What led to us meeting in the first place?"

"Yes, the war." Roy replied as he took the seat across from the rocking chair.

Alarice nodded her head as she returned to rocking when Klaus let out a small grunt meaning he was waking. The rocking had him settle down to return to his deep slumber while completely oblivious to the conversation his parents were having.

"Back then I didn't think anything good came out of that war." Roy said. "I didn't think I gained anything from it…but now, I realize that one good thing did happen…and that was meeting you."

Alarice's smile widened a bit at his sincere words as he reached out to place his hand on her knee.

"I met you not long after losing Yuriy and Sarah." Alarice said. "I remember that day quite vividly…"

* * *

1908 ISHVAL CIVIL WAR

Chaos roared around as the war between Ishval and Amestris continued. People were screaming and shouting and the sounds of shots being fired could be heard. Smoke was in the air, and the air smelled mostly of death. It didn't seem like the place for a young woman to be, but there was one. A young woman of Amestris, who appeared to be in her early twenties, was running around the battlefield trying to avoid being pulled into the direct fighting.

The young woman had light brown hair that was pulled back into a braid, but it was loose and she had hair falling around her face. Her sharp blue eyes, which were framed by a pair of thin spectacles glanced around as she paused to take in her surroundings. She let out a breath of relief to see she was still going unnoticed by the people running around. She wasn't here to fight them anyway, so she'd prefer to avoid them. She only came for the injured, so to take them to where her brother and sister-in-law had set up operations to heal the wounded.

Of course, she can only take back one at a time since she wasn't big or strong enough to move more than one person at one time. And she was sure that when she got back to her brother that he'd give her an earful for risking her life by running into the heavy battle...again.

"Though if he wanted me safe, he would have sent me out of this area." She muttered to herself. "Though he probably knew I'd just come back if he did."

All other doctors had run off and pulled back along with most of the soldiers, but she and her brother remained here with his wife to help those who were still fighting whether they be of Ishval or Amestris. And even if they did stay behind to help, there were still many soldiers and Ishvalans who were dying on the direct battlefield. She couldn't stay in one place and wait for the injured to be brought to her, so she started coming out onto the battlefield to look for the wounded and nearly on the brink of death. The girl took a deep breath about to keep going, but there was suddenly a loud and large explosion not far from her.

"What the—?!" She exclaimed as she was knocked over from the shaking caused through the explosion.

She sat on the ground with wide eyes as she watched the flames roar and the smoke shoot up into the air. She could also hear the screaming of many Ishvalans.

"No…all those people." She whispered.

It took her a few seconds, but she soon found her bearings as she got onto her feet. She ran in the direction knowing it could be dangerous, but she had to go see if anyone could be saved. She ran as fast as her feet would take her towards where the explosion happened as the fire dispersed a bit and mostly smoke remained. She reached the area with her eyes widening even more at all the blood and charred bodies that remained.

"Who could commit such an act?" She asked. "I know this is war…but this…this is too much."

She highly doubted anyone in this area would have survived, so she turned to continue her search. However, she paused when she could have sworn she heard someone call out for help.

"Somebody! Anyone!" She heard the voice again.

She ran towards where she heard the voices while trying not to fall in her haste or looking at the dead around her. She kept running forward until she finally spotted an Ishvalan man knelt beside another Ishvalan while begging him to hold on. The man's head snapped up to look at her as she got closer.

"An Amestrian!" He gasped. "Are you a soldier?!"

He moved to place himself over his fallen comrade to protect him if necessary, and the young woman could see that even if he was wounded that his man would fight her to protect his friend.

"No, my name is Alarice Rockbell, and I'm a doctor." Alarice said as she held up her hands in a non-threatening manner. "Please, allow me to help you and your friend."

The man stared at her for a moment then moved back out of the way to allow Alarice to see to his friend. She looked over his wounds. He had a deep wound on his head that was bleeding profusely, but that wasn't what was the most worrying. He had lost an arm, and the wound was bleeding so much that he could die from blood loss in seconds.

"Can you do anything for him?" The other Ishvalan asked. "Please, there has to be something…please, help my brother."

Alarice's heart clenched when hearing the man's pleading tone and when hearing this dying man was his brother.

"I'll try what I can but…I don't have the proper tools to treat such wounds here." Alarice said. "He'd have to be moved to where my brother, his wife, and I set up our medical base. But he might not make it that far."

The man looked down not knowing what to do. He didn't blame this woman who came to their aid. He understood the situation, and he understood his brother's condition. Doctors aren't miracle workers, but they do try their best. And this woman came out to this dangerous area to help, and she's trying to help people who weren't even of her own race. He looked up at the woman to see she was trying to help his brother with the medical supplies she did have even if they both knew it would make no difference in the end.

"I need to find a way to stop the bleeding in his arm." Alarice muttered to herself. "Cauterizing is the only way I can think of, but even then it might not save him. And it's not like I can just give him another arm now. Automail takes too long, and I don't have the equipment or a spar arm lying around."

The man's eyes widened for a moment as an idea came to mind. He looked at his own arm then down to his brother's stump. Give him…another arm?

"Miss, I know you don't owe two Ishvalans anything…but could you please take my brother to this medical base you mentioned?" The man asked Alarice.

Alarice looked up at the man in confusion. Didn't he realize moving his brother could actually be the worst thing to do? Honestly, she knew there was nothing she could do for this man's brother. He's as good as dead, but even knowing that herself…she couldn't give up on him. She wouldn't stop trying to save him until he took his last breath. The man who asked her for this favor lightly smiled when seeing the answer he needed in her honest blue eyes. He could see she was a kind woman and would take care of his brother.

"Thank-you." He said.

Alarice frowned wondering why he was thanking her when she hasn't done anything worth being thanked for. The man then placed his hands near his brother's bleeding stump. That's when Alarice noticed the tattoos on his arm. Those tattoos…they reminded her of the transmutation circles that she once saw in Mr. Hohenheim's alchemist books that she read when she was babysitting the Elric brothers. Electricity then came from the man's hands as he was doing something to his brother's stump.

"What are you doing?" Alarice asked.

"I am going to give my brother an arm." The man said. "That will give him a better chance of living, yes?"

"Yes, but what about that equivalent exchange thing or whatever it's called?" Alarice asked. "What will you have to give?"

The man just grinned, and Alarice's eyes widened when realizing he was prepared to pay any price to save his brother. She opened her mouth to protest, but then there was a blinding light that had her looking away. When she looked back, she saw the man's brother had an arm…and that man was dead. She looked at the book in her hands then the man's brother. She then got a determined look in her eyes as she continued to look at the unconscious Ishvalan.

"Don't worry." She said. "I'm going to make sure you live."

* * *

"Rice, I need more bandages here!" Yuriy called out to his sister.

"Coming, brother!" Alarice called back.

She ran across the rundown building to her brother as he was seeing to a wounded Amestrian soldier. Not far from them Sarah was looking to an elderly Ishvalan woman and Ishvalan boy. Alarice had returned about an hour ago with the wounded Ishvalan man, and as she predicted, she had gotten an earful from Yuriy for running off again. And then a hit on the head for good measure. But now it was time to work, so they couldn't dwell on how dangerous her choice had been.

"Thank-you." Yuriy said as she set the bandages beside him. "Here help me wrap his wound."

Alarice nodded her head then helped Yuriy wrap the soldier's wound then they both set him down to rest for a few moments. The man wouldn't be able to stay here long though since the fighting was getting closer. Soon all patients would have to be moved for their own safety. As the building shook from a nearby explosion, the Rockbell doctors paused with worried expressions on their faces. They didn't have much time. They had to get these people out of here to a safer location.

"I have to keep fighting." The soldier they helped say as he tried to get up. "Let me go back out there."

"You can't." Alarice said. "If you go out there now, you'll only die. That helps no one."

"She's right." Yuriy agreed. "Besides, we didn't treat you just to let you die."

Yuriy then went to help another patient as Alarice finally got the soldier to lay down without a fuss. She gave him a kind smile then quickly moved to check on a few other patients.

"Doctor, you, your wife, and your sister need to get out of here." A soldier said.

"Like hell we're going anywhere!" Alarice snapped at him. "There are still people to treat!"

The man jumped at her tone since he hadn't been expecting it. Alarice felt a hand placed on her shoulder, so she turned her head seeing Sarah standing there. Sarah gave a light squeeze to Alarice's shoulder to tell her to calm down. Alarice frowned though nodded obediently. Once seeing she was calm, Yuriy turned to the soldier who spoke.

"Young man, we're not going anywhere." Yuriy said sternly. "Now anyone who can move on their own go now."

Some people prepared to move as Alarice started continuing her work. There was still so many to treat.

"He's awake!"

Alarice blinked when hearing that while turning towards the only patient that had been unconscious, which had been the Ishvalan she brought here. She ran over towards the man as Sarah was telling him to keep still.

"Dear, come here!" Sarah called for Yuriy.

"No, it's alright." Alarice said. "I'll look after him. I brought him here after all."

Sarah nodded her head then moved back to let Alarice check on the man. Alarice looked down into his face while smiling when seeing he really was awake. However, the smile soon dropped while knowing she'd have to tell him about his brother soon. She mentally shook herself to put those thoughts to the side for now. Right now she had to focus on the good news that this man is alive.

"I'm so happy you're awake." She said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "But even if you are awake, you're not well enough to move on your own, so please take it easy. I promise you will leave this place."

She couldn't let his brother's sacrifice go to waste by letting his man die. Alarice then looked at a couple of the soldiers who weren't that wounded.

"You two." She said pointing at them.

They jumped when she pointed to them since they saw how scary she could be, so they were a bit intimidated by her even if she was a petite woman with a thin figure.

"You two get a cart to put this man into." She said as she walked towards them. "You will be taking him with you to safety, understand?"

"Yes, Miss Ro—!"

" _Doctor_." She interrupted. "I may be young, but I am a licensed doctor, so I will be addressed as such."

She narrowed her eyes at the men who good measure, which had them nodding quickly. Yuriy and Sarah lightly chuckled when seeing the soldiers were scared of Alarice.

"Right, of course, Dr. Rockbell." They said in unison as they saluted her as if she were their superior officer.

They then hurried to do as they were told, and Alarice nodded in satisfaction of getting what she wanted.

"What is going on here?!" Alarice's Ishvalan patient shouted.

She turned around quickly to look towards him as did Yuriy and Sarah. He moved to get up quickly with some of the tools and beakers falling to the ground to make a loud crashing noise. Alarice's eyes widened realizing the man was unstable, which wasn't uncommon for war patients. Especially ones that just woke up from a traumatic event. Alarice went to run over to the man as he screamed as if in pain, but Yuriy grabbed her arm to hold her back.

"Stay back." He said. "We don't know if he might lash out."

He then moved over towards the bed as Alarice frowned. She knew Yuriy just wanted to keep her safe, but she knew what she was getting into when she followed him and Sarah onto the battlefield. However, she did remain back as he wished.

"Sedatives." Yuriy ordered Sarah to get as she joined him at the injured man's bed.

"There aren't anymore!" Sarah said. "We used them all up."

Yuriy frowned then turned towards his little sister. He walked over towards her with Sarah following.

"What are we doing to do, brother?" Alarice asked. "He's obviously in pain."

Yuriy placed his hand Alarice's shoulder while knowing she was worried about the man. She did drag him here through the battlefield then bandaged him up and treated his wounds herself after all.

"Dr. Rockbell!"

Yuriy and Alarice jerked at the sound of someone calling for one of them then noticed the Ishvalan was out of bed, and he was running at them with a surgical tool.

"Watch out!" Yuriy shouted as he pushed Alarice out of the way.

Alarice hit the ground with her eyes widening as she watched Yuriy barely managing to put his arms around Sarah before the Ishvalan cut them down savagely. She watched their bodies drop to the ground as tears quickly filled her eyes. She didn't even care the Ishvalan had turned to her with his blade raised since her eyes were completely focused on Yuriy as the tears quickly rolled down her cheeks. She didn't even flinch as the Ishvalan started bringing the blade down towards her.

"B…brother." She whispered.

The man suddenly stopped his assault with his visible eye widening as he stared at the crying woman.

"Big…brother." She murmured as her shoulders started to shake. "No…no, no, no! You can't be dead, brother!"

She scrambled past the Ishvalan, who was frozen in place, to her brother and Sarah's body to shake them to get some kind of response, but there were none.

"You can't die like this, Yuriy!" Alarice cried. "Please, no! Don't leave me, brother! And, Sarah, what about Winry?! She doesn't deserve to live without both of her parents, so please don't be dead!"

As she continued to sob over her brother and Sarah's dead bodies, the Ishvalan came more to his senses. He realized what he had done as he listened to the woman's crying pleas. He then ran from the building with no one trying to stop him.

"Yuriy! Sarah!" Alarice screamed.

* * *

A WEEK LATER

Alarice looked around at the camp she was brought to this time around to assess the amount of injured there were and who looked as if they needed immediately medical treatment. Ever since losing Yuriy and Sarah, Alarice has been moving from one camp to another to help with the wounded. She had wanted to stay closer to the fighting like she was before, but she was told that if she didn't go somewhere safer to treat the wounded that she would be forced to return home. Honestly, a part of her had wanted to go home to Winry and her mother.

However, there was still so much to do. So many injured that still needed a doctor to see to them, and there weren't enough doctors here to begin with. So she had forced herself to pull herself together a day after Yuriy and Sarah's deaths. She had to keep going for Yuriy and Sarah. She knew that if the two of them were still here that they would remain on this battlefield to help the injured. As a doctor, she couldn't turn her back on those in need. She was sure Yuriy would be disappointed in her if she did anyway.

"Dr. Rockbell, are you still with me?" Dr. Knox asked.

Alarice jerked out of her thoughts then looked to the older doctor to see he seemed to be looking at her with veiled concern.

"Yes, sorry, Dr. Knox." Alarice replied. "Now what were you saying? I'm afraid I didn't quite catch it."

Knox studied Alarice for one more second as if looking for something before he gave a sigh.

"I was saying for the moment we only need to worry about the soldiers with minor injuries." Knox said. "I took care of the majorly injured just before you came here. Now is the time to look after all the other soldiers before a new wave of injured comes in."

"I see." Alarice said. "I'll get started immediately."

Knox nodded his head then watched as the woman walked off to immediately dive into work. As he watched her, he wondered just how she was holding herself together. He knew what happened to her. He heard all about it. How her older brother and his wife were killed in front of her by one of their own patients, and how one of those state alchemists found Alarice covered in their blood and crying over their corpses.

What she went through would be enough to send a grown man into hysteria with no chance of recovery, but this young woman pushed aside her grief to continue her work. His respect for her and the other Rockbell doctors grew when hearing all she went through. They really were magnificent doctors that should be respected, but now two of them were gone. He looked down at his own hands with a frown on his face. These hands were once meant to do the good work that Alarice was doing, but the military didn't want him to save lives. And so he feels as if he lost the right to treat the wounded, but today was an exception since the higher ups actually wish for him to save lives today.

"Dr. Knox, I'm surprised to see you here."

Knox turned his head to see Roy Mustang and Maes Hughes standing behind him.

"I thought the military had you performing pathologic research." Roy continued.

"Mustang, Hughes." Knox greeted as he turned to face them completely then went to reply to Roy's statement. "That's still my main job, but we lost two good doctors a week ago and the need for doctors to help save lives has doubled."

Roy nodded his head understanding that. Doctors were hard to come by it seemed, and the ones they do have were looking to the dead not the living who needed the most attention. But it wasn't those doctors' faults. They had to follow orders after all.

"Are you taking care of all these people yourself?" Maes asked.

"No, a fine young doctor arrived today to help." Knox said then pointed in one direction. "I feel more at ease with her here to help."

"Her?" Roy asked.

He and Maes then followed Knox's finger to the direction he was pointing to see Alarice was wrapping up a soldier's arm after putting in stitches. Maes tilted his head while sure he's heard of young female doctor that has been moving from camp to camp to look over the injured.

"Wait, is that Dr. Alarice Rockbell?" Maes asked with wide eyes.

"It is." Knox said as he nodded.

"I know that name." Roy said.

Though he can't remember how he knew that name. Was this woman important or something?

"She's the woman who lost her brother and his wife a week ago." Maes said. "Apparently one of their patients went berserk after just waking, and slaughtered the two right in front of her."

It all clicked in Roy's mind, and he realized where he heard the woman's name. It had spread quickly about the tragedy that happened to two of the three Rockbell doctors, and how the surviving Dr. Rockbell remained on the battlefield to continue her work.

"That poor woman." Maes said. "I can't imagine how she must be feeling."

"Right now all she is feeling is determination." Knox said as he wiped off the lenses of his glasses. "She pushed aside the grief and despair of losing two of her loved ones to continue the work of a doctor, which is to heal people and also to protect them from death if in her power."

Roy watched the woman a bit longer as she finished with yet another patient before moving immediately onto the next one.

"That's one dedicated doctor." Maes said as he smiled.

"A highly talented one as well." Knox said. "The Rockbell Family are all accomplished surgeons that are well known in this region. That and they're automail engineers. Alarice Rockbell is no exception. In fact, some say she's a prodigy in her field. She was one of the youngest doctors to ever graduate from the East City medical school."

Roy smirked as a thought came to mind. A highly talented doctor not afraid if the military agreed with her or not. And she obviously understands that people with the power to protect should take care and protect those who cannot protect themselves. It's the same belief he has come to realize. She would be a great addition to the group he wants to put together to help him climb the ranks. She might not be a fighter, but a skilled doctor would obviously be a fine asset. Of course, he doesn't have an official start to this group of his, but he knows he already has Maes and Riza's support.

"Now if you excuse me, I can't let her do all the work." Knox said. "I don't know how many chances I will have to actually help people after today, so I want to do as much as I can while I have the chance."

He nodded to the two then walked off to start looking after a few of the injured himself. Maes was about to say something to Roy, but paused when seeing the smirk on Roy's face.

"I know that look." Maes said as he looked at Roy. "I hope you're not really thinking about getting her involved with your plans, Roy. The girl has been through a lot."

"It's not like I'm going to force her into anything, Hughes." Roy said as he turned to his friend. "Dr. Rockbell is a strong woman, and I have a feeling she would fully support my naïve idealism as you call it. She does seem like an idealist herself after all."

Maes sighed while having a feeling that nothing he said would change Roy's mind now that it was made up.

"Just don't go pestering her now, alright?" Maes asked. "She's obviously been through a lot."

"I'm not an entirely cruel man, ya know, Hughes." Roy said. "I can wait."

Maes shook his head then went back to watching Alarice as she worked on the injured. The poor woman was completely unaware that a certain alchemist had his eye on her, and wanted to add her to his collection of chess pieces that he wanted to help him get to the top.

"I might even take her out to dinner first." Roy added.

* * *

"Are you sure that John was moved in here?" Roy asked as he and Maes entered the medical tent.

They heard that their friend John Maverick had been brought in for an emergency surgery, and that afterwards he had been moved into another tent to rest with other soldiers.

"Has any of my information ever led us astray, Roy?" Maes asked.

Roy gave him a look that said "yes", which had Maes snorting in a displeased manner. The two then heard raised voices. They looked over to see Alarice was standing by an injured man's bed and shouting at his superior officer.

"I'm telling you he's done!" Alarice said. "He can't do anymore in this war. He's lost three out of four of his limbs. Unless you plan to use him as a human shield than send him home, _Colonel_."

Roy felt his lips twitch up a bit in amusement as he watched this woman who couldn't even be five foot four glare defiantly up at a man three times her size.

"You're supposed to be a master in the ways of automail engineering." The colonel protested. "Can't you give him three automail prosthetic limbs? We can't afford to send back so many soldiers, Miss."

"It's _doctor_." Alarice said as she poked the man's chest. "Dr. Alarice Rockbell, and no I cannot just slap three automail limbs on him then send him on his merry damn way!"

One of the soldiers assigned to watch over Alarice tried to calm her, but she brushed him off.

"Little spitfire, isn't she?" Maes asked.

Roy nodded his head in agreement as they continued to watch the confrontation along with everyone else.

"Why not?" The colonel asked.

"Do you realize how much time it takes to build three automail limbs from scratch?" Alarice asked. "Just one limb could take three days, and that's pulling all-nighters. I don't even have the means to build those limbs. Nor do I have the resources to perform the surgery. Not to mention that the recovery time from such a procedure is three years usually two at the minimum. Any lower than that, and I'd say the person isn't human or some kind of weirdo. As you can see a lot goes into giving a person automail. It isn't something that can be done magically! Now get this man in a truck and get him out of here!"

It was silent for a moment before the colonel finally ordered two soldiers to get the patient onto a stretcher and out onto one of the trucks. As they were doing as ordered, the colonel was glaring darkly at Alarice who didn't seem scared in the slightest.

"And take Frank Gardner with you." Alarice said as she turned away from the colonel. "He lost his right leg."

"Anything else, Doctor?" The colonel asked frowning.

"Yes, there is actually something else you can do." Alarice said as she glanced back at the colonel. "Once you're done doing what I asked, get the hell out of my medical ward. Your face is disturbing my patients."

The colonel looked as if he might blow a fuse, but Alarice completely ignored him as she went back to work.

"Ya know, Roy, I don't think you could handle her." Maes said. "You might want to rethink your whole plan to ask her for her support on your climb to the top. She doesn't seem to like the military."

"Don't worry about it, Maes." Roy said. "I'm sure that once I use my charm that she'll be happy to agree."

Maes shook his head then finally spotted John sitting up on a cot not far from them.

"Hey, John." Maes called out waving.

John looked up from his lap to give the two men a tired smile as they made their way over to him. Maes sat himself on the edge of John's bed as Roy leaned against the foot of the bed.

"How are you feeling, John?" Roy asked.

"Sore." John said chuckling. "Which I'm considering a blessing considering the state I came in."

He had been caught in that explosion that took the limbs of those other two soldiers. However, his side and partially his back had received burns, and then there had been some shrapnel in his leg.

"Dr. Rockbell fixed me right up." John added. "She's an amazing doctor."

"John, are you crushing on the young doctor?" Maes asked with a teasing grin. "Better be careful because Roy has his eyes on her too."

"Well, if he's brave enough to make a move then let him." John said with a laugh. "I don't think there is a man alive who can tame that woman."

Roy smirked feeling as if a challenged was presented to him. He always did like a challenge, and it'd be a nice distraction from this damned war. Suddenly a loud explosion interrupted the calm atmosphere, and it shook the entire medical tent.

"What the hell?" Maes asked. "The fighting wasn't supposed to have gotten this far. I thought we had it contained."

Roy frowned because he thought that as well. He hurried towards the exit of the tent. As he made it outside, he saw a group of Ishvalans trying to storm the place. The group was small, and he had a feeling they were acting as a bombing suicide squad since they had explosives attached to their chests. He had to stop them before they got too close to the medical tent. He raised his hand to snap his fingers together to send out his flames, but a shout stopped him.

"Dr. Rockbell, come back!"

Roy turned his head just as Alarice went rushing past him towards the Ishvalans.

"What in the world is she thinking?!" He demanded.

He then spotted a soldier, who had to have been caught in the first explosion, lying on the ground while heavily wounded. That crazy woman was trying to get to him. Roy cursed then ran forward as well while ignoring when Maes shouted at him to stop. Roy reached Alarice and the soldier, and he grabbed her to pull into his chest, which had her gasping. He tucked her face into his shoulder since he didn't want her to see what was about to happen. He glared at the Ishvalans then snapped his fingers.

Flames erupted in front of him to engulf the Ishvalans who all screamed in agony. As his flames continued to burn the explosives went off, and Roy created more flames to act as shield of sorts between him, Alarice, the soldier and the explosions. He continued to hold onto Alarice while not letting her see the bodies of the Ishvalans burn. Once the flames stopped, Roy loosened his grip on Alarice, so she pushed back from Roy to look up at him.

"You know, Dr. Rockbell, you might want to think before you act next time." Roy said as he let out a breath.

And that was Roy Mustang and Alarice Rockbell's first step down the path that would take them to a future together that they never saw coming.

* * *

Coco: I hope you liked the first chapter, and like I said, please no flames. No reason to be rude, right? Well, until next time~


	2. Another Day In the Life of a Doctor

Coco: Sorry for all the typos. I was in a rush when I was proof reading. DX I promise to read it more carefully next time. I got this new job, and the hours kind are of weird since they don't know what shift to put me on. So I'll have less time to work on my stories, but I'll try not to let breaks between chapters to be too long.

* * *

Roy was sitting with Maes the next morning eating some breakfast when a voice was cleared. The two men turned their heads to see Alarice standing there.

"I'm sorry to disturb your meal." Alarice said. "I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. And apologize for any trouble I caused you."

Alarice dipped her head in an apologetic manner to Roy who set down the spoon he had bringing to his lips.

"I'm just glad you're alright, doctor." Roy said as Alarice lifted her head. "Though what you did was more than a bit dangerous."

Alarice scratched the head in an almost sheepish manner as her lips twitched up the barest amount.

"I seem to make it a bad habit to put myself in danger to help others." Alarice confessed then gave a sigh. "I can't seem to help myself. My body just acted when I saw that wounded soldier. He obviously couldn't help himself, so I hurried to help anyway I could."

Roy grinned partially when hearing her words before he stood to hold out his hand to her.

"I don't think we were properly introduced." He said. "I'm Major Roy Mustang."

Alarice reached out to shake Roy's hand with her smaller hand in a firm handshake.

"Dr. Alarice Rockbell. It's a pleasure to meet you, Major Mustang." Alarice said.

She then turned to offer her hand to Maes, and he grinned in a friendly manner as he shook her hand in turn.

"I'm Captain Maes Hughes, Dr. Rockbell." Maes said. "I've heard a lot about you. Mostly from Dr. Knox. Would you like to join us for breakfast?"

"Thank-you for the offer, Captain Hughes." Alarice said. "I would like too, but honestly I'm craving coffee more than actual food."

"One cup of bad coffee coming up!" Maes said as he stood. "Please, just have a seat and I'll be right back."

Alarice opened her mouth to tell him that he didn't have to go get her a cup of coffee, but he was already gone. She blinked at how fast he moved as Roy, who retook his seat, chuckled.

"Hughes will be back soon." Roy said. "You should probably sit down to rest while you can, right?"

Alarice sighed though had to agree with him. She was feeling exhausted from her lack of sleep last night, and felt like she was running on fumes. She sat down on the third unoccupied crate while rolling her shoulders.

"You look tired, doc." Roy said. "When's the last time you had a decent amount of sleep?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Alarice retorted.

"Fair enough." Roy said as he chuckled.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few seconds before Hughes returned with a hot cup of coffee.

"Thank-you, Captain." Alarice said as she took the cup from him.

"You're welcome, Dr. Rockbell." Maes said as he sat down beside her. "And you can call me Maes or just Hughes if you want."

"Maes, huh?" Alarice asked. "Well, if we're going to drop formalities then feel free to call me Alarice."

She then took a sip from her cup, and the horrible taste of cheap coffee touched her tongue. However, she was quite used to the taste, so she barely bat an eyelash at it. As the three were trying to feel some sort of normalcy by enjoying breakfast with company, Alarice felt a pair of eyes glaring a hole into the back of her head. She turned her head partially to see that colonel from yesterday was glaring right at her as he enjoyed "finer" food in the higher up's tent.

"He still seems upset." Maes said as he noticed the man glaring as well.

Roy frowned at the man to see he obviously was holding a grudge against Alarice. That could be a danger to her if he wanted to get back at her for humiliating him the other day in front of all those soldiers.

"I'm used to the higher ups hating me." Alarice said with an indifferent shrug as she looked away from the colonel. "And if I cared about how they felt about me, I never would have treated both Amestrian soldiers and Ishvalan people. I knew the moment I took my first Ishvalan patient that it would rub someone the wrong way."

She and Yuriy had even discussed it once. It was a weeks after they got here, and an officer had freaked out when seeing injured Ishvalans in the same medical tent as him. They knew if one foot soldier could react in such a way that the higher ups must really be hating them since they're treating the people they're trying to kill.

"Aren't you worried about how the high brass might react?" Roy asked. "Even if you are a civilian they might try to punish you."

"He has a point." A new voice cut in.

Alarice frowned then turned her head back around to see her "bodyguard" standing behind her. Roy and Maes both glared at the newcomer when seeing it was Kimblee.

"And there goes any hope of my morning being anywhere close to good." Alarice said then ignored Kimblee to look back at Roy. "And to answer your question: No, I'm not worried about how the high brass might react. I am a doctor, and I took an oath to save human lives and to never take a human life. If I completely ignored a fallen Ishvalan, and left him injured on the ground, it'd be like putting a bullet in his head with my own two hands."

Alarice moved her cup of coffee into one hand to look down at the other silently for a moment.

"I refuse to do such a thing with these hands." Alarice said. "I won't leave another human being to die if I can somehow prevent that from happening."

Roy looked closely at Alarice while remembering what Knox had said yesterday.

 _"…continue the work of a doctor, which is to heal people and also to protect them from death if in her power."_

Alarice didn't fight like he, the other state alchemist, or the soldiers did. Her battle was against death itself in a manner of speaking, and she fought that battle whenever she's brought in a patient close to the very death she wishes to protect people from.

"And I respect you for sticking to your beliefs and your vows as a doctor, Dr. Rockbell." Kimblee said with a slight grin on his face that almost looked less than pleasant. "But…wasn't it one of your Ishvalan patients that slaughtered your brother and his wife?"

Alarice stiffened with her eyes widening when Yuriy and Sarah's deaths were brought up so bluntly. Roy and Maes glared at Kimblee as the man continued to grin.

"…Yes, he was…" Alarice said. "The man who killed Yuriy and Sarah was indeed Ishvalan."

And she would never forget his face for as long as she lived. Yes, it had at first been covered by blood, but in between treating him and bandaging him, she had gotten a clear view of his face. And she knew that after his wounds healed that he would have a scar shaped like an "x" on his face, which was caused by the explosion he had been in.

"And wasn't it you who brought him to the small medical base you and your brother set up?" Kimblee continued to ask as he leaned down to place his lips near her ear. "More specifically, you found the poor man injured, and as you said as a doctor, you could never leave a man for dead, so you dragged him all the way back to where you set up base. You treated him, and when he woke up, he attacked your brother and his wife to kill them right in front of you, isn't that what happened exactly?"

Alarice's body shook a bit as her hand clenched into a tight fist. She couldn't deny anything this man said. It was all true.

"That's enough, Kimblee!" Roy snapped as he stood up onto his feet with Maes beside him. "Leave her alone. _Now_."

Kimblee chuckled while standing up and leaning back away from Alarice, which had her relaxing her stiff composer a bit.

"I'm only pointing out the facts." Kimblee said _innocently_. "As I said, I respect Dr. Rockbell for sticking to her believes. However, one must wonder if her brother and his wife would still be alive if she had just left that Ishvalan to die on the battlefield. But I suppose lesson learned. I'm sure she won't make that mistake again."

Roy growled while ready to shut this guy right up, but just as he was stepping forward, Alarice reached out to grab his sleeve tightly. Roy and Maes looked down at Alarice as she kept her head bowed.

"Don't get yourself in trouble on my account." Alarice spoke with her voice surprisingly even. "Let the dog bark if he wishes."

Kimblee's brow quirked curiously while not seeming to care that Alarice insulted him. Alarice then stood up while turning to face Kimblee completely.

"There are a few things you have absolutely right." Alarice said. "However, when you said, I 'learned my lesson' and that I 'won't make the same mistake' again you're wrong."

Kimblee tilted his head curiously as Roy and Maes looked at Alarice with wide eyes.

"Wrong?" Kimblee asked. "Are you saying you'd still help a wounded Ishvalan after what happened? Don't you hate them for what happened to your brother and his wife?"

"Why should I hate an entire race for what one man had done?" Alarice asked. "That would be like hating all Amestrians for the sin that one soldier committed that got this whole war started in the first place. I will not pass blame onto the innocent, or hate them for what that man had done. Especially when I am trying not to hate that man to begin with."

She spoke in a clear and strong tone that showed how serious she was being as Kimblee lightly frowned. Roy and Maes couldn't believe what they were hearing. She didn't hate that Ishvalan for killing her brother and his wife?

"You're trying not to hate him?" Kimblee asked. "Why? He killed your brother and his wife. The parents of your niece who's an orphan now. And your mother lost a son because of that man."

"Yes, my family suffered a great lost when Yuriy and Sarah were killed." Alarice said. "And I can't deny that a part of me wants to hate and curse that man. In fact, I do hate him to some extent...but I am trying to look past my hate to think about how that man must have felt. That man…he had went through such a traumatic event. He was caught in a huge explosion…he lost his family in a single instant. When he woke up, he was in a place he didn't recognize with three doctors of Amestrian around him, and the last thing he remembers is being severely injured due to an explosion caused by an Amestrian. To his frazzled mind that was trying to cope with everything that happened…he was surrounded by the enemy, so he attacked."

Alarice knew it was common in patients that survived a traumatic event to react violent when first waking. That's why it's always good for a doctor to have a sedative at the ready. However, they had no more to calm the man, and they didn't realize how much he could move when that injured…or how strong he was.

"Anyone would have reacted the way he had even an Amestrian soldier if they thought they were in danger, or thought the people directly the cause of his pain was in front of him." Alarice continued. "In fact, a few days before I brought that Ishvalan in for treatment, an Amestrian soldier reacted violently when first awaking after treatment. He attacked me, and before he could be pried off of me, he left me with this."

She lifted her shirt partially to reveal a scar running along the left side of her torso. It seemed to start right under her chest before going all the way down to her hip. The scar was pretty jagged as well as if a broken bottle or some type of other jagged edge was used to cut her.

"And you know who got that man off of me?" Alarice said. "An Ishvalan man that my brother and sister-in-law had treated earlier that day."

She then lowered her shirt back down to put the scar out of view once more. Alarice smoothed down her shirt than stuck Kimblee with an even look.

"This might sound cold, but this is war, isn't it?" Alarice asked. "People are going to die whether it be people I know or complete strangers. All I can do is try to save as many as I can, and not hold grudges against those who sent them into my care in the first place or put them into graves. Yuriy, Sarah, and I all knew what we were getting into the moment we agreed to come here to help. And I know for a fact, that my brother would help me save that Ishvalan all over again even if he knew what the outcome would be because that's the type of man my brother was."

Roy and Maes looked at Alarice with a new found respect as she continued to stare at Kimblee without waver.

"Besides, I'd like to point out that it was your explosion that severely wounded that man to begin with, Crimson Alchemist." Alarice said. "And as you were killing his people with your explosions, you were supposed to have already arrived to give your protection to us. So if you truly think I should blame someone, maybe I should blame you."

It was silent for a moment as Kimblee narrowed his eyes at Alarice who stood her ground. The tense silence was broken when someone shouted that more wounded were coming in.

"And that is my cue to get to work." Alarice said with a sigh. "Thank-you, Maes, Major Mustang for the coffee and company."

She dipped their head to them then went to get back to work while having no parting words for Kimblee.

"That's one strong woman." Maes said.

"Yeah." Roy agreed.

He watched Alarice start barking out orders to soldiers on where to move the injured and for someone to get her tools ready for surgery.

"That woman needs to be careful." Kimblee said as he started walking away as well. "She already managed to escape death twice, but there's no guarantee fate will be so kind the next time if she continues to act so defiant."

Roy glared after Kimblee while wondering what he meant by that. One thing he knew for certain was that he needed to make sure that Alarice was careful around that man.

* * *

Alarice worked quickly and efficiently as she performed surgery on a man that had shrapnel lodged in his spine. If she isn't careful, she could kill him with one wrong move. That or she could leave this man paralyzed for life. She kept her sole focus on this man while ignoring the battling she could hear in the distance. She pulled out another piece of shrapnel to put into the small glass dish to her side that had alcohol in it. She went back to trying to get out all the rest, but digging into this man's body much more could be fatal.

"Dr. Rockbell, we have another critically injured!" A soldier shouted as he poked his head into the tent. "He'll need immediate surgery."

"Dammit." Alarice said. "I could really use Dr. Knox right now."

However, the high brass had called him back to perform pathologic work instead of help save the very soldiers they're sending out to battle.

"Can you give me the man's status?" She asked as she continued to work while trying not to rush.

"There's a large whole in his torso, and it is believed that several of his organs were damaged, ma'am." The soldier said. "He's barely hanging onto life, Doctor."

Alarice mentally cursed once more before knowing she couldn't continue trying to dig the shrapnel out of this man any longer. She might have to come back later to cut him back open, but for now he'd live.

"Bring that man in, and set him on the other table." Alarice ordered as she put down her tweezers and scalpel. "And have two people come and get this man to place him in the recovery tent."

She quickly went to sew this man up as the soldier nodded before rushing to do as she ordered. As soon as she finished sewing up the man, she quickly went to clean his blood off of her. Her next patient was already waiting for her, but she couldn't see to him until she disinfected herself again. If she didn't, she could pass some kind of disease to her newest patient. It didn't matter that she had gloves on when working since she couldn't take the chance. She walked over to her newest patient seeing it was some alchemist.

"This man is more than just half dead." She said to herself as she looked at the gaping hole in this man's torso.

Whatever wounded him really did a number on him. She checked the man over while noticing knowing she was going to have to cut him open even more to see the exact damage to his organs. She prepared to slice him open more when the entire ground shook as the sound of an explosion sounded way to close for comfort. Alarice was quick to grab onto her patient before the entire table toppled over with him on it. Once she shaking stopped, Alarice frowned having a feeling that Kimblee was the cause to that explosion.

"That man only cares for destruction." Alarice said. "And that very love for destruction will be his undoing someday."

Alarice then went back to work while wishing she had some kind of assistance, but she didn't have that kind of luxury. And she's become better at working on her own during the last week. She had to get used to working solo on surgery.

"Don't worry." Alarice said to the unconscious soldier. "I will make sure you live to at least see another day."

She opened his wound then checked to see what organs had been damaged. She hoped none were too damaged to the point that he couldn't be saved. Alarice worked as quickly as she could without being sloppy. She had to work fast since more injured were pouring in, but if she was sloppy in her work then she'd do more harm than good. She kept slowly focused on task while continuing to ignore the sounds of battle outside. Even as she was soaked in the blood of her patient she continued to work.

"Alright." She said once she finished patching him up the best she could. "Next patient."

And this continued for hours. She would patch up one man to the best of her ability before receiving a new one to treat. It took six whole hours before she finished with all the critically injured. She stepped out of the surgical tent with a tired look on her face and blood covering her white coat and the front of her clothes. She didn't even blink anymore at being covered in blood. It was something she's grown used to.

"Dr. Rockbell." Captain Denmark, who was one of the men assigned to look after her, said softly as he looked at the tired woman. "Perhaps you should rest now. Take this moment to take a nap."

"I can't just yet." Alarice said. "There are still so many people to look after. I have to treat the soldiers with even minor injuries because even the smallest of cuts can get infected and turn into something worse. Especially on a battle field like this where so much blood soaks the ground."

Denmark frowned since he could see the woman looked ready to fall over at any seconds. However, he didn't argue with her. He just followed her to the tent that housed the soldiers with minor injuries. As Alarice stepped in, she saw that some soldiers who weren't injured were giving first aid treatment. Well, that meant less work for her, but if they did a botch job, she'd just have to fix things later. She decided to leave them be though as she walked over to the soldier closest to her who happened to be a woman.

"Alright," Alarice said. "What seems to be the problem?"

The woman lifted her head with a dead look in her eyes, which is something else that Alarice has grown used to.

"An Ishvalan managed to sneak up behind me in my perch." The woman said. "Stabbed me in the back, but I managed to get him off of me."

"I see." Alarice said. "Would you be comfortable if I treated you here? Or would you prefer some privacy? I will have to at least partially remove your shirt to give treatment."

The woman didn't answer, but Alarice guessed the answer by the frown on her face. Alarice turned to Denmark.

"Captain Denmark, it seems these men can handle these minor injuries of the other soldiers." Alarice said. "I will treat this woman in the privacy of my tent. Afterwards I probably will take that nap you suggested."

Denmark smiled while glad to hear that Alarice would finally take that break like he suggested.

"I'll make sure to watch after them, ma'am." Denmark promised. "Make sure they don't mess up, so you don't have to waste your time fixing their mistakes later."

Some of the men, who heard his words, cried out "hey!" indignantly, which had Alarice chuckling in amusement. She then helped the injured woman off the cot to help her towards her tent. As they left the main medical tent, Alarice glanced at the woman she was helping.

"So what's your name?" Alarice asked.

"Riza Hawkeye, ma'am." She replied.

Alarice made a face at being called ma'am by a woman who had to be her own age, but said nothing. She didn't like being called ma'am by anyone, but she had grown used to the term along with many of the other things she's grown accustomed to since she came here to offer aid for the war.

"Well, Riza, my name is Alarice Rockbell." Alarice said. "You can call me Dr. Rockbell, or just Rockbell if you prefer. Or even Alarice. Whatever you're comfortable with."

Riza nodded her head as the two women made it to Alarice's tent. Alarice helped Riza inside then had the woman sit down on her bed.

"Don't worry about getting blood on it." Alarice said. "Just remove your shirt then lay stomach down on the bed, so I can get to your wound."

"Yes, ma'am." Riza said nodding.

She started removing her cloak first as Alarice went to get some of the supplies she'd need to disinfect and stich Riza's wound. Alarice always kept some medical supplies in her tent just in case while most of her medical equipment was kept in the surgical tent. When she turned around with her equipment, Riza was laying down like she asked. Alarice blinked when seeing the large tattoo on Riza's back.

"Are you an alchemist, Riza?" Alarice asked. "I only ask because this seems like some really complicated alchemic formulas on your back."

Riza stiffened with her eyes widening. She hadn't thought about the tattoo earlier. She was supposed to protect its secrets for her late father, but now everything was exposed to this doctor.

"Or at least it looks complicated to me." Alarice continued to say. "I'm not an alchemist, so I don't really know the difference between the basics to something complicated."

Riza relaxed when hearing that since she had been really worried there for a second.

"No, I'm not an alchemist, ma'am." Riza replied as she felt Alarice place disinfectant on her wound to prevent infection and to clean it. "I'm just a simple sniper. My father was an alchemist though. The tattoo on my back is his final work. It's all I have left of him now."

Alarice didn't have to ask if Riza's father was deceased. It was already evident by the somber tone in Riza's voice, and how she said the tattoo on his back that was his final work was all she had left from him.

"I see." Alarice said as she got the needle and thread ready. "So you never had no interest in following in his footsteps?"

Alarice didn't want to pry, but she wanted to keep Riza talking, so to distract her from the needle about to go into her back.

"None." Riza said. "Alchemy didn't interest me, and he already had a young man who was already interested in learning from him….Did you always want to follow in your parents' footsteps, Doctor?"

Alarice blinked not expecting Riza to ask her own questions, but honestly the young doctor didn't mind Riza asking.

"Yes." Alarice said. "For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a good surgeon and an automail engineer. My mother had really made a name for herself as a very talented young automail surgeon, and my brother was very close to making himself a name by the time I could start to comprehend the medical books and automail engineering guides I was reading."

Alarice had been able to read since she was really young. She had actually got a head start on those her age, but just because she could read better than the other kids it didn't mean she could completely understand what she was reading. Like all those medical text might have well been written in another language since she hadn't understood them at first. Same thing for the automail engineering guides.

"Your brother was that far ahead of you?" Riza asked.

"Well, there is a bit gap between when Yuriy was born and when I was born." Alarice said. "Twelve years in fact, so he had quite the lead by the time I was even born. But I was stubborn and vowed to catch up to him, so I spent most of my childhood studying thick medical and automail engineering texts."

Alarice spent many days holed up in her room just reading and taking notes. She even used to quiz herself on the things she learned.

"Did your brother or mother help you learn?" Riza asked.

"Sometimes." Alarice said. "But my mother was always busy since she had a lot of work to do. My father died not long after I was born, so she had to take on more responsibility to take care of Yuriy and me. Then Yuriy was usually busy studying himself, and by the time I was starting to understand more and more of what I was trying to teach myself, he was heading off to the university."

Though Alarice did have help. An old friend of her mother's used to help her study, and he taught her many things with his vast knowledge. In a way, he had become like a father to Alarice since she did not know her own, and even if he acted distant that man did help Pinako look after Alarice.

"A close friend of my mother's helped me catch up to my brother at least in medical wise while my mother taught me about automail when she had the time." Alarice said allowed. "He'd tutor me every day for at least three hours or so until he left Resembool. I was sixteen…about to turn seventeen, and I barely got to tell him that I had received an early acceptance to the medical university that Yuriy had attended before he was gone."

Alarice owes a lot to Van Hohenheim. She could probably never fully repay him for what he's done for her.

"Do you know where he went?" Riza asked curiously while not even knowing that Alarice was almost finished stitching her up.

"No, I don't." Alarice said. "He said he had something very important to do, and that someday he will come back."

Alarice hoped it was soon since she knows that the longer he stays away that the more Edward grows to resent him. Edward and Alphonse need Hohenheim more than ever now, but there was still no sign of him. Alarice wonders if the man even knew about Trisha's passing.

"Well, Riza, you are all taken care of now." Alarice said as she cut the excess thread. "You can put your shirt back on now."

Riza blinked since she hadn't even realized Alarice put the needle in in the first place. She hadn't felt a thing. Alarice turned to put away her supplies as Riza pulled back on her shirt.

"Thank-you, Dr. Rockbell." Riza said as she stood up from the bed.

"I'm just doing my job." Alarice said as she turned to face Riza. "Maybe sure to get as much rest as you can before you're sent back out because there's no telling when any of us will get a break again."

"Right." Riza said.

Riza dipped her head in farewell then left Alarice's tent. Alarice gave a sigh while really feeling the need to sleep for the rest of eternity. However, she doubted she'd be getting rest for an hour at the most.

"Well, time to hit the sack while I can." She murmured to herself.

She climbed into the cot then laid back with her hands behind her head. She let out a soft breath as she closed her eyes. She didn't think it was possible, but she soon found herself falling into the darkness as her exhaustion took its toll.

* * *

Late that night Alarice let out a yawn as she exited her surgical tent. She had barely been asleep an hour before she was being woken by Denmark who said a large wave of wounded was coming in. She just finished with seven hours' worth of surgery.

"I thought bringing in the alchemists was supposed to lessen the amount of wounded." She said to herself then frowned.

Well, lessen the amount of injured for the Amestrian forces. The wounded and the dead piled up even more on the Ishvalans' side. And she hasn't been able to see to any of the injured Ishvalans. She wanted to help them, but she knew if she brought any of the Ishvalans to this camp to treat they'd only be killed since all soldiers were ordered to exterminate any Ishvalans in their sight.

"Even the innocent are being slaughtered." She said quietly. "Women and their children…the elderly and the sickly. Those who can't even protect themselves."

Her hands clenched into fists as a bit of anger welled up in her chest. She didn't understand the need to kill those who weren't a threat. As a doctor, it made her sick that there were so many people dying around her that she couldn't help.

"You look exhausted, Dr. Rockbell." An unpleasantly familiar voice said to her left.

She turned her head seeing Kimblee walking up to her. What did he want with her? She knew he was in charge of her safety, but she highly doubted she was in that much danger in the middle of this military camp filled with soldiers. Besides, Kimblee always worsened her mood.

"I suppose I am." Alarice replied. "But I'm not the one who spent the day fighting, so I bet you're more exhausted than I am. Why don't you go rest that way I don't have to deal with you?"

Kimblee chuckled at how bluntly she shows her distaste for him without batting an eyelash. He honestly found her amusing.

"Perhaps I'll get some sleep after escorting you to your tent." Kimblee said. "After all, I am meant to protect you."

Alarice narrowed her eyes at Kimblee with her gut churning almost as if it was warning her. She didn't trust this man to begin with. It didn't make sense to her for the military to send one of their strongest assets to guard three civilian doctors to begin with. Then when Kimblee and his man had arrived finally to the medical base Alarice had been in with Yuriy and Sarah, one of his men said something that even Alarice's despairing mind picked up.

-FLASHBACK-

 _Alarice sat off to the side with a soldier putting a blanket over her shoulders as Kimblee and one of his most trusted subordinate, whose name was Christopher Ragger, at his side. Not far from them was Yuriy and Sarah's bodies, which were covered up. Alarice stared blankly ahead not really caring about anything at the moment. However, as she sat there she picked up the conversation Kimblee and Captain Ragger was having._

 _"And what about the plan, sir?" Ragger spoke in a hushed tone to Kimblee. "Two out of three are already taken care of. Do we continued as planned?"_

 _Alarice's eyes widened a bit as she turned her blue orbs onto the two men who didn't seem to notice they caught her attention._

 _"No." Kimblee said. "For now we'll leave her be. There's no reason to do anything since I'm sure she'd rather die than help any Ishvalans after this."_

 _Alarice frowned wondering what exactly they were talking about. Her mind quickly leaned towards one theory, but she wasn't one to jump to conclusions even if what's leading towards the conclusion pretty much paves a road there._

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Alarice had already known that military officers high up on the chain of command would get angry with her, Yuriy, and Sarah for treating the wounded Ishvalans. She and Yuriy had once even said that the military might find a way to try and stop them. However, neither of them ever thought their own country's military would try to kill them.

But after hearing that little snippet of conversation, Alarice started to think she's way more expendable to the military than she's comfortable with. However, she wasn't going to start acting on her best behavior to appease those bastards in the high brass. To her that would be cowardly, and suddenly behaving and not doing her job as a doctor would also be an insult to Yuriy and Sarah.

"I don't need you to hold my hand and walk me around." Alarice said. "I'm fine on my own when you're out fighting, aren't I?"

Kimblee grinned know this woman didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, and she was wise not to.

"Yes, you are, but the fighting has gotten close to this area." Kimblee said. "Now we can't be too careful with your safety, so please allow me to escort you back to your tent. It would give me peace of mind to know you arrived safely."

Alarice frowned openly while ready to tell him to take a hike, but in a more crash manner. However, before she could a voice was cleared that had Alarice and Kimblee turning their heads to see Roy standing there.

"I'm sorry, Kimblee, but Alarice promised to have dinner with me." Roy said. "And I'd hate to miss out on her company after we made our plans."

Alarice blinked before grinning at Roy's impeccable timing. It looked as if he was helping her out another time. And while she doesn't like owing people, she'll worry about it later. Kimblee frowned this time as he narrowed his eyes at Roy.

"Don't worry." Roy said as he grinned. "I won't keep her out past her curfew…much. And I'll be sure to protect her to the best of my ability, so you can retire for the night."

Kimblee grit his teeth together, and before he could say anything, Alarice walked past him to stand beside Roy.

"You heard the man." Alarice said. "Later, Kimblee."

Roy smirked at the Crimson Alchemist just to piss him off, which he succeeded in doing before he walked away with Alarice. Once they were far enough away from Kimble, Alarice sighed while sticking her hands into her pockets.

"I guess that's another one I owe you." Alarice said. "I don't like owing people."

Roy chuckled while not all surprised to hear that. Alarice didn't seem like the type to like being indebted to anyone.

"You can repay me by letting me enjoy your lovely company at dinner." Roy said.

Alarice frowned at him and his flirtatious tone, and his grin grew a bit in amusement when seeing her annoyed look. She then looked away while groaning in annoyance.

"Great, I'm indebted to a womanizer." She said not so quietly. "Just my luck."

She continued her grumbling as she and Roy headed towards where dinner was being served. He continued to grin down at her while thinking she was providing a nice distraction from the hellish reality of this war.

"I'm sure I'll grow on you, Dr. Rockbell." Roy said.

"Like fungus on the side of a tree?" She asked. "I think I'll pass."

The two continued their banter, but Roy did glance back at one of the buildings surrounding the camp to look at the sniper posted there. From the sniper's positioning, he could easily see Alarice's tent, which meant he would have a clean shot if he fired at her. It seemed as if Alarice really did piss off a lot of people in the high brass.

He'd have to stay on his guard to look after her whenever he could until the end of this war. He looked back to Alarice while mentally swearing to protect with all his power. If he couldn't protect one woman then he had no right saying he would someday protect the entire country by becoming Führer.


	3. Mail From Family

Coco: Sorry for the typos. I just finished nine hours of work and have six other things to get published/posted tonight since I won't have much time tomorrow or Thursday before I have to clock in back on Friday. Sorry again. I'm just so tired.

* * *

Weeks passed and Alarice found her patience with Roy Mustang starting to run a bit thin. She knew he was sticking close to make sure she was safe. She knew about how Kimblee's men were keeping close eyes on her as if waiting for her to be alone. Though she played ignorant even in front of Roy who thought he was also protecting her from the fact that the military wanted to get rid of an eyesore aka her. And while she is grateful for the protection Roy wasn't someone she'd pick for company willingly if they ever met outside of these circumstances.

Because something Alarice has come to realize from the few weeks she's known Roy is that he could be really annoying…like beyond annoying. One second he could be tolerable with her actually enjoying his company, and the next second she wanted to punch his face in. He's arrogant most of the time when it comes to his skills, and will go into a dangerous situation without thinking since he's certain he'll be fine. Nearly gives her a heart attack every time, and then he has the gall to tease her about worrying about him.

He even flirts with her and Riza, who has become a friend to Alarice, most days. Maes says it's just to lighten the mood, and while the mood did need lightening, his womanizing ways pissed her off. She's also heard that he plans to do whatever it takes to get promotion after promotion until it's him who sits in Bradley's seat one day. To her the high brass are a bunch of assholes, and if Roy wants to be a part of them then Alarice honestly doesn't want much to do with him. Does all he really want to be an annoying arrogant man who works alongside those old bastards in the high brass?

Alarice wanted to believe there was more to him than that after all he's done for her. There were moments where she actually thought he was better than he made himself off to be. Because there are moments they've shared when he was being genuine and shared parts of his idealistic dreams…those moments seemed to be where he let his true self shine. Roy Mustang really was a complicated man, but that didn't change the fact that he could still be annoying as hell.

"I can't get a full reading on that guy." Alarice said to herself.

She heard someone call her name, so she turned her head seeing the soldier who usually hands out mail heading her way.

"Dr. Rockbell, there's mail for you." He said then held out an envelope to her.

Alarice thanked him while taking the envelope from him. He nodded to her then went to hand out the rest of the mail. She looked at the letter while seeing her mother's familiar handwriting going across the front of the envelope. Pinako checks in with her every so often, and tends to send letters from the kids to Alarice all in one envelope. Alarice just stared at the envelope for a moment while almost feeling at peace just by seeing her mother's handwriting.

"Looks like you got some mail too."

Alarice jumped at the sudden voice behind her before whirling around to see Maes standing there. He laughed a bit when seeing her started expression. She frowned at him in return, which had him trying to school his own expression. Alarice then sighed guessing it was kind of funny how he startled her.

"Hello, Hughes." Alarice said. "Did you get a letter from Gracia?"

As soon as the question left her mouth, Alarice almost regretted it since Maes immediately started gushing about his lovely Gracia. She should have known what would happen the moment her mouth formed that question. She's gotten to know Maes over the weeks since they met, and she knew the man's mouth would just keep on running when he was speaking about Gracia. Alarice kept a smile on her face and nodded along to what he was saying while listening to every word. It was actually nice to see such a happy expression on someone's face when they were stuck in this war.

"So who'd you get mail from?" Maes asked after finally stopping his gushing about Gracia. "A sweetheart back home?"

Alarice snorted because she's never really had time to ever go on a first date in her life, so she never had time to get a "sweetheart".

"No," Alarice said shaking her head. "There's no sweetheart, Hughes. It's just a letter from my mother, and she probably had the kids write to me again as well."

"Oh, so Dr. Alarice Rockbell is single, huh?" Maes asked grinning. "You know Roy could always use a good woman like yourself. Someone to keep him in check."

Alarice stared at Maes for a moment as she wondered if he was actually being serious. When she saw he was, she let out a laugh. An actual laugh that wasn't forced or short. It was the first one she's had in a while.

"That's rich." She said once she calmed down a bit. "Me dating Roy Mustang? That's hilarious. Hughes, you're so funny."

"Glad I could bring a smile to your face." He said chuckling. "But I was being serious. Who knows you two could be the prefect couple and get married someday."

Alarice snickered because that was just funny too. Her getting married in the first place would have to be a miracle. Her getting married to Roy Mustang of all people was beyond impossible and completely comical.

"That's what made it so funny." Alarice said matter-of-factly then sighed. "I'm afraid I'll be living my life as an unmarried woman, Hughes. I'll die as one too."

"That's just depressing." Maes said lightly frowning.

Alarice smiled in a ruthful manner as she gave a slight shrug on her shoulders.

"It may seem that way to you, but I don't care either way." Alarice said. "I don't need a husband. My family and my work is all I need to live a content life."

"You said content not happy." Maes pointed out. "Come on, give Roy a chance, Doctor."

"No." Alarice said bluntly while walking away.

Maes followed right after her while still pestering about trying to give Roy a chance. Alarice turned him out as she went over to get her morning coffee. She's read the letters from her family while enjoying a disgusting cup of coffee. The perfect way to start a morning. She sat down on some crate off to the side while leaning back against the wall of some crumbling building.

"Why won't you give him a chance?" Maes while basically pouting.

"Because I'm not interested in him in the slightest." Alarice said.

She then took a sip off her coffee with the horrible taste not even registering to her now.

"Not interested in who?" Roy asked as he walked up to him.

Alarice supposed this was one of those "speak of the devil and the devil shall appear" moments.

"You." She said bluntly.

"Ouch." Roy said. "You sure know how to hit a guy where it hurts."

She shrugged unapologetically then turned her attention to the envelope she has yet to open. She set her cup of coffee to the side then opened up the envelope as Roy helped himself to one of the other crates to sit down on. He and Maes talked a bit as Alarice pulled out the contents of the envelope. She saw that there was only one letter this time from her mother to tell her how things were in Resembool and how the kids were doing.

Apparently things were calming down in Resembool now that the fighting has been pushed further and further west and contained back in Ishval's Holy Land. The kids were getting to go back to school while not having to worry about walking without adult supervision, or with soldiers hanging around. Young Winry was already starting to delve deep into automail engineering, and knowing she was already so interested in the craft of automail brought a smile to Alarice's face. Winry was going to be a gear head just like her and Yuriy.

Alarice kept reading the letter to learn that Edward and Alphonse were trying to find a proper teacher to teach them the ways of alchemy. Apparently they were very eager to learn, and very impatient to find a teacher. Alarice supposed those books that belonged to Hohenheim could only teach them so much. She could understand since if it wasn't for Hohenheim's teachings then she'd still be trying to catch up to Yuriy's brilliance. But besides trying to learn more about alchemy it seemed the boys were doing well, and staying out of trouble for the most part. Alarice was sure that Edward was occasionally causing her mother problems.

"That boy did pick up my temper." Alarice said to herself as her smile widened partially.

She spent a lot of time at the Elric Residence whether it was for tutoring or to babysit the boys. She should have known some of her personality traits might rub off on the boys. Alphonse was a sweet kid who never seemed to get angry, which he got from his mother. Edward wasn't so level-headed or even-tempered. Alarice then noticed something else sticking out of the letter, which had her blinking curiously. She pulled it out to see it was a picture.

The picture showed Edward in the center with a birthday cake in front of him. Winry, who was holding Den, and Alphonse were on either side of him. All three of them had big smiles on their faces and ridiculous party hats on their heads. Edward even seemed to be like he was waving. Alarice stared at the picture while feeling her eyes watering a bit as she looked at those smiling faces. It's been too long since she's seen those kids, and receiving this picture meant a lot to her.

"That's right." She said. "Edward's birthday was about a week ago. He's getting older…but he hasn't grown an inch."

She chuckled sure that Edward must be not drinking his milk still. That boy hated milk for some reason, so he always refused to drink it. Even when people warned him that he'd remain short if he didn't drink it.

"Aw, what sweet smiling faces." Maes, who was looking over her shoulder at the picture, said. "Who are those sweet looking angels?"

Alarice wanted to laugh when Maes called them angels. Alphonse and Winry could pass as angels. Edward…not so much.

"My niece Winry and the Elric brothers—Edward and Alphonse." Alarice said. "I guess you could call them my nephews since I helped take care of them since they were born."

Alarice was actually present during their births since Pinako helped Trisha when she went into labor for Edward and then Alphonse. Alarice freaked out a bit when Edward was born because of all the screaming coming from Trisha. She had even yelled she was going to die, which didn't help calm Alarice down. However, after getting through that Winry, who was born a few months after Edward, and Alphonse's births weren't that bad. She even assisted her mother when Alphonse was born.

"Gees, just thinking about when those boys were born makes me feel old." Alarice said as she chuckled.

"Come on, Alarice." Hughes said. "You barely look twenty."

"Well, I'm twenty-three." Alarice informed him.

"Same as us." Roy said.

He then plucked the photo form Alarice's hands, which had her frowning at him. He looked at it silently for a moment then looked up Alarice.

"So those three are waiting for you to come home?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, those three and my mother." Alarice said. "All the family I've got left in this world. Well, those four, and I suppose I can count Mr. Hohenheim."

He has been around since her birth, and honestly she almost saw the man as a father since hers died when she was so young.

"Hohenheim?" Roy asked as he held the photo back towards her. "Name sounds familiar."

She took the photo from him while looking back at Edward who looked so much like Hohenheim.

"Well, he's an amazing alchemist." Alarice said. "So maybe you heard of him from other alchemists. He's an old friend of my mother. He also tutored me. I spent more time learning from him than actually going to school."

Pinako used to scold Alarice for skipping school just to "bug" Hohenheim with a bunch of questions and having him teach her things her teacher could have done.

"Wait, an alchemist was basically your teacher, but you don't know alchemy?" Roy asked.

"Never had any interest in alchemy." Alarice said shrugging. "Doctoring and automail engineering were the only things I cared about learning. And if I had to pick between those two things, I'd say being an automail engineer is what I love the most. I'm a total gearhead. Give me some automail equipment, and I'd love you forever."

She gave a dreamy sigh while thinking off all the automail prosthetic limbs she's ever made and her mother and brother's work as well. Roy and Maes exchanged a glance then looked back to Alarice's blissful expression.

"Just thinking about working with automail sends shivers down my spine." Alarice continued to swoon. "It's the best feeling in the world when I complete yet another masterpiece and get to connect to it another customer who is so happy…after their done writhing in pain and screaming of course."

Roy and Maes paled while never ever wanting to lose a limb since they'd never want an automail prosthetic limb.

"Why is it so painful?" Maes asked.

"Because the limb has to be hooked to the nerves in the stump, so it'll function like a regular limb." Alarice said. "And anesthetic can't be used during the procedure since the nerves need to be fully reacting, so they can be hooked in properly. It's very painful and the surgery takes a few hours, which means the pain is drawn out. Grown men scream, and beg for it to be over. I even had one patient beg to die."

This made the two men pale even more, and Alarice laughed at their expressions. The light atmosphere was broken when a voice was cleared. Alarice recognized the voice, and she frowned while looking past Roy to Kimblee.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to inform Dr. Rockbell that she'd be moving out with the rest of us." Kimblee said.

Roy and Maes's eyes widened when hearing that, and Alarice narrowed her own. Back where most of the action was happening, eh? Well, it was either they had no military doctors for the job, or they were getting desperate to get rid of her.

"You'll be back in the frontlines, Doctor, where most of the action is happening I'm afraid." Kimblee said. "Don't worry though. I'll be sure to keep a good eye on you."

"Oh, how reassuring." Alarice said sarcastically. "Now, when do I need to be ready to head out? I'll need time to pack my medical equipment, understand?"

Kimblee nodded his head then told her the troops would be moving out in three hours' time. That meant Alarice needed to do a few quick checks on some of the more critically injured before starting to pack.

"Alright." Alarice said as she stood up. "I'll prepare to leave. But before we go I have a request."

Kimblee looked at Alarice with a quirked brow as he wondered what she wanted. She never asked for anything unless it was help with the wounded or something along those lines.

"Well, I know you were assigned to protect me and all, Kimblee." Alarice began. "But I also know you're such an important asset to the military, and having you out on the battlefield is very important. So I'd like to ask that Captain Hughes be placed as my personal bodyguard from now on."

The three men looked at Alarice with wide eyes as she smiled at Kimblee in a completely "innocent" way.

"Uh me?" Maes asked.

"Yes, I'm sure you're more than capable of taking are of little oh me." Alarice said. "And I'm sure the higher up would feel better knowing that I'm not taking away one of their alchemist's time by letting him play bodyguard. Besides, Kimblee is obviously more efficient at killing than protecting."

As she said that her smiling expression turned sharp as she pinned Kimblee with her eyes. Kimblee stared right back at her with a frown on his face. This woman was very clever. She obviously knew not to protect Kimblee or the higher ups, so she requests a new bodyguard. However, she's careful with the way she phrases things to make it sound like she's trying to do the military a favor. If the higher ups don't approve her request, it makes them look more suspicious and Alarice would become even more on guard.

If they do approve Alarice's request it means she's protected by someone who obviously wouldn't kill a civilian. Kimblee knew that just looking at Maes that he'd rather face server punishment than kill a civilian. That and he was obviously friends with Alarice, which means he'd be even more determined to protect her. However, Maes was just a normal soldier, and he was just one person. If he had to deal with multiple Ishvalans by himself then he'd easily be overwhelmed. Also he'd stand no change against an alchemist. Not to mention Kimblee was sure the higher ups wouldn't care if one of their own soldiers just happen to be caught in an explosion along with the good doctor.

Kimblee knew Alarice had to notice these possibilities as well. She had to know that asking for Maes had its high risks too. Was she really ready to gamble like that? As he stared into her eyes, he could see she really was prepared to do almost anything. She was being dead serious.

"I'll see what my superiors say." Kimblee said as he put a polite smile on his face. "Until then perhaps Mustang and Hughes can help you with any preparations you need to make to get ready to move out with us."

"Thank-you, Kimblee." Alarice said with an obviously fake smile. "I appreciate it."

Kimblee nodded then walked away to go speak with his superiors about Alarice's request. As soon as he was out of earshot, Maes and Roy turned to Alarice.

"What in the world is going through your head?" Maes asked. "Wouldn't an alchemist be the better person to be your bodyguard?"

"Not if that alchemist isn't really too invested in protecting me." Alarice said. "And if I just asked for another alchemist to watch my back, it'd be less likely that they'd agree. I need someone I trust watching over me, so I don't have to worry about looking over my soldier all the time. If I'm doing that, I can't give the proper attention to my patients."

Maes supposed that made sense, but he didn't understand why Alarice though Kimblee might not protect her at all. Kimblee was definitely a bastard, but he seemed to take his orders quite seriously. Roy was thinking differently than his friend as he looked closely at Alarice. So she wasn't blind to the fact that the higher ups wanted her out of the way since they don't like her defiant attitude or the fact she helped Ishvalans. Roy knew she was intelligent, but it seemed she was crafty as well.

"Don't worry, Hughes." Alarice said as she pat him on the soldier. "I have complete and utter faith that you'll protect me just fine. Now you both get your asses in gear there's plenty of work to do before we head out!"

* * *

Alarice hummed calmly to herself as the sound of war happened all around her. She was currently giving emergency treatment to a wounded sniper. Apparently the man's perch had been discovered, and an Ishvalan had threw a few grenades up there. The man moved as fast as he could to get out of the way, but he had still gotten partially hit by the explosion caused by the grenades. All of his limbs were intact, but his back looked as if it had been through a flaming shredder due to the burns and deep gashes littering his backside.

"There seems to be shrapnel lodged in his spine." Alarice said mostly to herself. "And this shrapnel is much deeper than the last patient I had with a similar wounded in the spine. Whether I remove the shrapnel or not won't change the fact that he's paralyzed from the waist down now."

Maes, who was with her, looked sympathetically at the man who had fallen unconscious the moment Alarice started treating him. The sound of gunfire seemed to get closer to them, which had Alarice frowning.

"This really isn't the best place to be treating someone." She said as she plucked more shrapnel from the man's spine.

She and Maes were hunkered down in house that was in ruins that offered little protection to them. However, it wasn't really safe to move since there was literally a gunfight happening just behind the wall they were hiding behind.

"We might be able to move him somewhere safer once the troops push back the Ishvalans a bit." Maes said. "But there really isn't any building left intact enough to make a makeshift medical base out of."

"If there's at least three walls, we can make do." Alarice said. "The building I had been using with Yuriy and Sarah wasn't in best conditions either, but when you're out here treating patients you work with what you got. And if the walls aren't enough to protect your patient you use your own body to do so."

In other words, Alarice said she'd use her own body as a shield if it meant protecting one of the wounded. She was obviously a doctor dedicated to her work. After picking out all the shrapnel she could find, Alarice went to stitching up what needed stitching. After that she'd had a disinfectant to the burns. It'll cause the man a lot of pain, but hopefully he'll remain unconscious while she's doing so.

"The fighting seems to be getting even closer." Maes commented. "Soon this building might be caught in the firefight."

"Probably, but we really can't move at the moment." Alarice said. "And rushing means I might make a mistake, and if a mistake is made, it would do a lot of harm to this man. I'm trying to work as fast as I can without being sloppy though."

Maes nodded his head knowing she was trying. It just made him antsy that they were remaining idle when there's a lot of stuff happening around them. Alarice finally got to the part where she could bandage to the man, but she paused for a split second to wipe the sweat off her brow. This heat was damn torture. She finally pulled the shrapnel out without causing more damage to the man's spin though it wasn't like it did him a lot of good either. He was still paralyzed.

"Alright it's time to move him." Alarice said as she put away her tools quickly.

She put the strap of her bag over her shoulder then didn't bother to clean the blood of her hands as she went to pick up the injured solider. However, Maes suddenly pushed her down as if to cover her, and it was a good thing too since if he hadn't, a bullet would have went through her head.

"Dammit." Maes said "This is real bad. The fighting really is right on top of us."

"Then we need to move." Alarice replied. "Staying here isn't safe, but moving gives a chance to get away."

Maes frowned knowing that was true, but moving with an injured person was even less safe. However, they couldn't leave the man behind. Another shot rang out, and this one nearly hit Alarice again. It was almost as if the person shooting was aiming for her only.

"I'll take him." Maes said gesturing to the injured man. "And then I want you to walk ahead of me, so my back to towards the shooter."

"You want me to use you as some kind of shield?" Alarice asked looking disgusted. "I can't do something like that!"

"You must and you will!" Maes actually snapped. "You chose me to protect you, so you will do as I say so that I can do my job."

Alarice was surprised by his tone, and she frowned because she didn't pick Maes to protect her, so to use him as a shield. She chose him because she trusted him.

"Alarice, move!" Maes ordered.

She frowned more though decided to do as she was told. She grabbed her things then started moving after helping Maes get the injured man off the ground. They moved as fast as they could through the battlefield to find some kind of shelter. Maes kept expecting to get a shot in the back of head soon, but the shot never came. It surprised him, but he wasn't about to complain about it. He and Alarice then made it to a building with more cover, so they stopped there.

"Do you think the shooter was taken out?" Alarice said.

"That or whoever was shooting didn't see me as a target." Maes replied with a frown on his face.

And if that was the case that meant it couldn't have been an Ishvalan shooting the gun. Alarice was about to suggest they move a little bit farther from the fight, but she was cut off by the sound of feet shuffling against rubble. She and Maes stiffened with Maes stepping in front of Alarice.

"Come out!" Maes ordered as he readied one of his daggers.

"No, no, please, don't attack!" A man pleaded. "We mean no harm."

An Ishvalan man then came around the corner waving a makeshift white flag, and Alarice recognized the man as someone she treated in the past.

"Mr. Faull." Alarice said.

Maes glanced back at Alarice guessing this man was a former patient of hers. Even knowing that, he kept up his guard.

"Dr. Rockbell, I knew I spotted you moments ago." Mr. Faull said. "I know you already did so much for me, but I must ask for one more favor."

Alarice stepped forward despite Maes warning her not to as Mr. Faull reached back to grasp the hand on a young woman, who had her head bowed, standing behind him.

"Please, my niece—Nakia." He said. "You must take her away from her, and back to her father's family."

"Listen, I don't know that's possible." Maes said. "I'd like nothing more to save an innocent young woman, but the superiors might shoot her on sight if we bring her with us."

Alarice frowned knowing that was true. She'd try her hardest to protect the girl, but since she is an Ishvalan, she'd most likely get a bullet to the head as soon as an Amestrian solider, who didn't have a conscious like Maes or Roy or a few others, set eyes on her.

"But she is of your people!" Faull said then had his niece raise her head.

Maes and Alarice both were stunned as two blue eyes looked back at them. This girl had obvious Ishvalan features…but her eyes…her eyes were that of an Amestrian.

"And I thought nothing else could surprise me in this war." Alarice said.


	4. Back Home At Last

Coco: Hey, readers, just wanted to let you know that I went and edited chapter one. Well, the beginning. There was a few things I didn't get right in the timeline that I want to change. The changes won't be too major, but you can go back and check them out. And sorry for taking so long to update. I hope you like this chapter though. And sorry for all typos. It was a rough day at work because it's the beginning of the month, and like everyone in town decided to come grocery shopping today. And I'm just exhausted and have three other things I have to post tonight. But I have tomorrow off, which means I finally get to rest. :D

* * *

A few days passed since Nakia was brought to Alarice, and it had taken a lot of fighting with the higher ups to get them to agree to letting Nakia live. It was her clear Amestrian heritage that saved her in the end, of course. The girl's uncle had not been as lucky. The second a soldier had seen the man, he had received a bullet to the head. Nakia sobbed over his body for a full hour before Maes had to pry her away, and he looked so guilt ridden as he did so. The girl was still recovering from everything, but at least now she would be going home to her father's side of the family.

Apparently her father was an Amestrian soldier, but he had been killed a bit before the war actually started. The girl had stayed with her paternal aunt for a few years. However, came to the middle of the war looking for her mother and uncle. Now it was just her who carried the bloodline from her mother's side of the family. Alarice had sent out a letter to the girl's cousin who was apparently a young Amestrian solider that was actually not part of this war. The man should be picking up Nakia soon. Until then the young half-Ishvalan stayed nearly glued to Alarice's hip, but it wasn't like Alarice blamed her.

"And you take care of all these soldiers by yourself, Dr. Rockbell?" Nakia asked as she walked through the makeshift medical base with Alarice.

It was just a building that was better held up than the rest. It wasn't much, but it put a roof over their heads and four walls of protection around them. Alarice would have to move out the wounded though soon since the war was getting closer. However, she was told in a few days it should all be over, and she would be able to send the wounded all home to their families. She just had to keep them alive that long.

"Yes." Alarice said nodding. "There aren't enough doctors to have more than one placed in a unit or in a quadrant."

Nakia nodded then watched as Alarice did a few checkups on the wounded. None of them seemed bothered by the half-Ishvalan's presence. However, Alarice was sure that would be different if the girl didn't have such blue Amestrian eyes. It might just seem like a small detail, but it made a big difference.

"Do you enjoy being a doctor?" Nakia asked.

"Yes." Alarice replied without hesitation. "It brings me great joy to help people."

"And you don't care if those people are of your nation or not?" Nakia asked.

She heard from her uncle that Alarice, her brother, and her sister-in-law had helped Ishvalans and Amestrians throughout the war.

"It doesn't matter what kind of race people are." Alarice said. "I will treat anyone who needs medical treatment without hesitation because that is what a doctor is meant to do. Besides, our blood all runs red just the same, doesn't it?"

Nakia nodded her head while smiling for the first time in the past few days. She admired Alarice for her beliefs. She followed her heart as a doctor, which told her to give treatment to all without discrimination.

"Dr. Rockbell, do you think…I could be a doctor someday?" Nakia asked.

Alarice paused in looking over one of her patients to look back at Nakia to see the slightly younger woman seemed very intrigued with doctor work. Alarice could even see a spark in Nakia's eyes to show she truly wished to give doctoring a try.

"If you work hard enough, you can be anything you want in life." Alarice said. "So, yes, someday you could be a doctor."

Nakia hoped that was true because after seeing Alarice help people, she wanted to as well. She wanted to help anyone and everyone who needed medical treatment like Alarice. And she wouldn't discriminate or push away any of her patients.

"Rice!"

Alarice's head snapped up when she heard Maes's panicked voice. He was stepping out of the doorway, which he had been guarding to let Riza rush in while practically dragging a heavily bleeding Roy.

"Roy!" Alarice exclaimed in alarm.

Roy weakly lifted his head to look at the young doctor as she hurried over to help Maes, who took Roy off Riza's hands, get Roy over to a spare bed. They set him down as carefully as possible, and Alarice was quick to remove his white jacket and the top part of his uniform to look at the deep wound in his torso.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to buy a guy a drink first?" Roy joked weakly.

"Shut-up." Alarice said shortly.

Roy chuckled before wincing as Alarice had to reach into the wound to feel around to see if anything was lodged inside. She didn't feel anything side, so she removed her prying fingers.

"What happened?" She asked.

"An Ishvalan child…I froze, and he got me with the sword he was carrying." Roy said. "Kimblee…dealt with him after that."

Alarice resisted the urge to start cursing Kimblee as Nakia looked away with her eyes wide. A child…was killed? She shook not even wanting to think about it.

"Nakia, I want you to go to my medical bag, and bring me back my stitching kit." Alarice said.

When Nakia didn't move immediately, Alarice turned to look at the girl seeing she was still shaking.

"Nakia!" Alarice snapped.

Nakia jumped looking at Alarice with wide eyes. Alarice didn't mean to sound harsh, but she needed Nakia to focus. Alarice repeated what she needed, and Nakia hurried to do as she was told. While Nakia was doing that, Alarice checked Roy's pulse it was weak, and by all the blood he was losing, Alarice knew he'd need a blood transfusion.

"Do you know your blood type?" She asked.

"No." Roy said shaking his head.

Alarice frowned because that meant they'd have to take a guess, which could end badly. Or she'd have to give her own blood since it was O negative, which meant it'd match Roy's blood no matter what it was.

"Maes, I need you to help me prepare for a blood transfusion." Alarice said as Nakia arrived with what she needed. "After I stitch up Roy, I will take two pints of my own blood to give to him."

Alarice then went to cleaning Roy's wound, so she would be able to stich better.

"Wait, is that safe?" Riza asked.

Alarice didn't answer at first as she went to stitching Roy's wound as the man was feeling tired due to the blood loss.

"Yeah, that's a lot of blood, Rice." Maes said. "And after giving that much blood, aren't you supposed to take it easy?"

He knew she wouldn't since there was still so much work for her to do that had to be done.

"We can't worry about any of that!" Alarice snapped. "Roy will die without this blood transfusion. Do either of you want that?"

The two looked down not wanting that, but they didn't want Alarice at risk either. Alarice took their silence as unhappy compliance, and soon Maes went to do as he was told. He's helped Alarice a few times with blood transfusions, so he knew how to do the easy part of setting it up. As Alarice was finishing up with the stitching, Roy reached out to grip her wrist. He looked at her with half-lidded eyes as he had trouble staying awake.

"Don't…" He whispered. "…blood…for me…"

Though to someone else that broken sentence might not make sense, Alarice understood it.

"You're getting my blood, pal." Alarice said. "I'm a doctor, so I can't ignore what my patient needs. Besides, you save people and protect them by fighting, but I can't, so doing this is my way of protecting you. It seems the least I can do, and in return you can protect me once you're well."

Roy's eyes widened partially since what she said made him think of those idealistic views he had, and how he wanted to make them reality. It seemed as if he and Alarice both had something in common. Maes then came back with what was needed, and with Alarice's help they got the IVs set up to transfer some of her blood to Roy's body. As her blood started filling the tube, Roy's hand reached out to grip her own. She blinked looking over at him, but it seemed as if he dozed off as soon as his hand touched hers. She felt her lips turn up partially as she closed her eyes to relax in her seat for a few moments. It seemed as if giving blood to Roy would actually allow her time to rest her body even if short.

* * *

Roy sat up in his hospital bed with Alarice looking over him. He wanted to get back to the fighting as weird as that sounded. Honestly he just wanted to win this damn war already, so they could all go home. It was definitely taking its toll on them. Riza and Maes's eyes looked more and more like they belonged to killers every day, and he knew his looked no better. Alarice just continued to look more and more worn out as the days went, which was caused not only by all the work but the nightmares as well that he knew she was having. And each day brought more horrors for the both of them.

"You're doing much better." Alarice said as she finished the checkup. "However, I don't suggest going back out to battle. You could rip your stitches, bleed out, and die if you do."

Roy sweat-dropped at how bluntly she said that as Alarice sat down in the chair besides Roy's bed.

"I need to get back out there." Roy said.

Alarice sighed not surprised that Roy would say something like that since this was Roy she was talking to.

"Why?" Alarice asked. "I think you've done enough. I mean, people are already calling you the hero of the Ishvalan War, which means you've had to do something right. Why can't you just wait another day or two?"

"Because I have to help end this damn war." Roy said. "So we all can go home."

Alarice frowned wishing Roy wouldn't be so damn stubborn. She just wanted him to stay here in the building safe. However, she knew he wouldn't, which oddly made her very angry.

"Then do whatever the hell you want." Alarice said as she stood up.

She turned away from Roy to walk away. However, he reached out to grab her wrist. She looked back at him as he looked up at her seriously.

"Don't turn away angry." Roy said. "I might not come back, you know."

"Which is why I'm telling you to stay." Alarice said frowning. "I'd rather not have to send you to see Dr. Knox, Roy."

Roy, who let go of her wrist, looked away knowing that Alarice had to be worried about him, and he knew he couldn't be making it easy by leaving when he was still injured. Alarice let out a sigh as she looked to the side.

"Do what you want." She said again. "Just be careful. I'd actually miss you if you got yourself killed."

She walked away from Roy to check on her other patients who Nakia was helping her with. He sighed as he went to get up. He would end this war as soon as possible. He knew the higher ups said it was just a matter of time before it was over…a few days…maybe a few weeks before it was over. But if he could cut that time in half, he'd prefer it. He grabbed his coat, which had been set to the side when he was brought in. He put it on then the white one over that as well. He headed for the exit, but paused to look back at Alarice as she was instructing Nakia on how to re-bandage wounds. Alarice paused in what she was doing as well to look towards Roy.

"I'll be back." He said firmly.

"I'll hold you to that." She replied.

He then left with Alarice silently praying that he was yelling the truth, and not telling her some kind of lie.

* * *

A few days after Roy left to rejoin the front, the war was ended, and Alarice was finally able to send all the wounded home. That had been a relief, and she was glad she lost no patients in the last few days. She's seen Maes and Riza already, and the latter has already headed off to head home, which Alarice can't blame her for. Nakia was with her cousin at the moment, and they were discussing plans on getting home. Alarice wanted to head home herself.

She saw off her last patient, so there was no reason for her to stay any longer. Besides, she lived through the war despite many people wanting her dead, so she probably shouldn't push her luck just because it was over. However, there was one person she has yet to see, and a part of her didn't want to leave until she did. Roy…she heard he was still alive. In fact, it was through his "valiant efforts" that the war was finally over. But she'd still rather see him with her own eyes.

"What is a beautiful woman like yourself standing here alone?" A familiar deep voice asked from behind her.

Alarice's eyes widened before she turned around quickly to see Roy standing there with a smug grin on his face.

"I told you'd I'd be back." He said chuckling. "Did you miss me?"

Alarice found herself actually wanting to say yes, but she didn't wish to give him the satisfaction.

"Not at all." She said coolly. "I only said I'd miss you if you died, but you didn't now, did you?"

Roy chuckled once more while just glad to see Alarice again. It feels as if it's been too long even if only a few days passed.

"No, I kept my promise." Roy said as he grinned cockily. "I think that deserves a reward."

He looked at Alarice expectantly, but she just gave him a no-way-in-hell-are-you-getting-whatever-your-perverted-mind-is-thinking look, which had him sighing in defeat as he hung his head. He then looked a bit serious as he looked at her again.

"I guess, you'll be heading home now, huh?" He asked.

"Yes, back to my mother, Winry, and the boys." Alarice said as she smiled. "I'm sure Ed will give me an earful for staying gone too long."

She chuckled while thinking of those three children. They were practically her own since she helped raised all of them. They were precious to her, and she missed them so much. Roy nodded guessing as much. There was no reason for Alarice to stay here, and honestly, he'd rather her be as far away from here as possible. Try to put this place behind her though he knew it would be hard. The things they went through wouldn't be things that would ever go away. Roy then looked towards Alarice as she held out her hand to him.

"Guess this is goodbye for now, Roy Mustang." Alarice said as she smiled at him. "If you're ever in Resembool, you should look me up. Our little town doesn't have much to offer, but it's a nice place to relax."

Roy smiled at her in return then reached out to gently take her hand into his to shake it.

"I'll be sure to do that." Roy said. "I'm sure I can visit often. I was told I'd be assigned to the Easter Command as a Colonel."

"That's a big promotion." Alarice said. "Try not to let the power go to your head. It's big enough already."

Roy chuckled not surprised she made a jab at him since it seemed like the norm for them.

"I won't let it." Roy said. "But I'm not stopping at Colonel. One day I will become the Führer of this country. I want to make a big difference in this country, Alarice. A difference where those of power protect those below them and those in return protect the ones below them. I want to make a bright future for our country, but to do that I must rise in the ranks to reach the top."

Alarice was silent as she listened to Roy speak so passionately about his dream. She used to think he only wanted promotions to make himself look better, but after spending so much time with him during the war, she has seen there was more to Roy Mustang than meets the eye. Deep down he was a good man who loved his country, and wanted to make it a better place. Alarice's smile turned soft as she looked up at Roy.

"I'm sure one day you'll reach your dream." She said surprising Roy. "Some people might not think so because your ideals are so idealistic, but they are not impossible to achieve. And if you ever get too banged up during your struggle to the top, you'll know where to find me. I'll patch you right up. I'll even throw in a discount to the medical fees."

Roy remained silent for a few seconds before he let out a small chuckle as he smiled at Alarice.

"I'll be sure to call on you when I need you then." Roy said then dipped his head. "It has been a pleasure working with you, Dr. Rockbell."

Alarice was about to reply when someone called out to her. She turned her head seeing Nakia hurrying her way with her cousin following behind her. Alarice waved to the pair as Roy remained at her side.

"Doctor, I wanted to properly introduce you to my cousin." Nakia said then gestured to the blonde man beside her. "Please, meet Jean Havoc. Jean, this is Dr. Rockbell. She has looked after me for the past few weeks."

Jean smiled kindly at Alarice then held out his hand to greet her, so she reached out to take her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Jean said. "Thank-you for looking out for Nakia. I really appreciate it. I was so worried about her that I was thinking of volunteering to come down here to find her."

Alarice was glad it didn't come to that because the less young soldiers here the better. There was no guarantee the two cousins would be standing together now if Jean had come down early.

"She's precious family." Jean said. "And I protect my family."

Roy looked at the young soldier intrigued. He was like the type of men Roy was looking for for this special team he wanted to put together to help him rise to the top. Jean obviously was the type of person who was a protector and Roy was sure he could be made into a fine asset someday.

"I'm glad to help." Alarice said. "And Nakia was a big help to me as well during her stay, which I am grateful for."

"Ah, speaking of that, Dr. Rockbell," Nakia began shyly. "I…I was wondering if I could perhaps become your apprentice."

Alarice blinked surprised by the request. She's never thought about taking on a student before. Well, she knew she would help Winry during her studies to become an automail engineer, but that was a bit different.

"I thought about what you said." Nakia said. "About how as a doctor that you don't discriminate between your patients. How you treat anyone who needs treating because that is a doctor's job. I wish to do the same. I wish to help people who need it no matter what race they come from. After all, I am both Amestrian and Ishvalan, which means I am not bound by the boundaries of one race anyway, right? So why can't I learn how to help those of all races as you do? Will you please teach me?"

Alarice scratched the back of her head as Nakia looked up at her with such hopeful eyes. Alarice then sighed as she looked to the side.

"I suppose I could teach you a thing or two." Alarice said, which had Nakia's smiling wide. "But I think the both of us could benefit from spending time with our respective families, don't you? You should go home and settle in a bit before taking on becoming a doctor. It's a long road to which there are no shortcuts, which means you'd probably go long periods of time without seeing your family."

"I understand, Doctor." Nakia said seriously.

Jean let out a sigh of relief since he would have hated returning to his parents to tell them that Nakia wouldn't be coming home just yet.

"In about a month or two, if you still want to be a doctor, look me up." Alarice said. "Resembool isn't a big town, so it'd be easy to find me."

Nakia nodded before saying her goodbyes to Alarice and Roy. She then left with Jean who was ready to get her home where it'd be safe for her.

"Speaking of home, I really need to get back there." Alarice said then looked to Roy. "Good luck with your new post, Roy."

"Thanks." Roy said. "I hope you have a safe journey home, Rice."

Alarice nodded, and for a moment the two just stared at each other silently. However, Alarice mentally shook herself before giving Roy one last parting smile. She turned to walk towards the truck that was waiting to drive her to the nearest train station with Roy watching her leave. Someday they'd see each other again. For that he was certain.

* * *

"There it is." Alarice said as she paused on her walk up the dirt path.

She stopped to look at the familiar house that resided at the end of the path she was on. The old place never looked more beautiful in her entire life. She smiled softly glad to see it. Just a few more steps and she'd really be home. She continued walking up the path, and as she reached the yard, the door burst open to reveal three certain kids.

"Auntie Rice!" Winry cried as she, Alphonse, and Edward hurried down the steps.

Alarice immediately started crying in happiness the second she saw the three of them as she dropped to her knees to open her arms to all of them. They ran into her arms trying to hug her all at once. Alarice gave a happy laugh then kissed each one of their heads.

"You're home." Alphonse said. "We missed you."

"You took too long." Edward added. "We were worried."

Alarice looked at Edward softly as he looked at her with a slightly hurt look in his eyes. Alarice gently moved away from Winry and Alphonse for a moment to hug Edward solely.

"I'm sorry, Ed." Alarice said. "I know you all must have been worried. I'll try to never worry you again like that. Can you forgive me?"

Edward sniffled though tried to keep his tears at bay, but it didn't work since they rolled down his cheeks. He then put his little arms around Alarice as best he could.

"Uh-huh." He said as he hid his face in her bosom.

Alarice smiled down at him as she stroked his head. Winry and Alphonse smiled at the scene while glad Edward was happy. They knew he had been really worried about Alarice. He had been afraid someone else from their lives would be taken away, but now she was home.

"Oh, before I forget, I got something for each of you." Alarice said as she pulled back.

The three looked at her curiously as she reached into her bag. She pulled out a doll to give to Winry who gave a happy giggle as she took it.

"Thank-you, Auntie Rice." Winry said.

Alarice nodded before she reached back into her bag. She pulled out two separate books to which one went to Alphonse and the other to Edward. They looked them over, and soon they both smiled widely.

"Alchemy books!" Alphonse said.

"And we've never read ones like these before." Edward added.

"Well, I figure to aspiring Alchemist need all the research material they can get, so I thought you would like these books." Alarice said.

"We do!" The boys said in unison.

Alarice smiled glad to see all of them so happy. She then looked to Winry with her happy smiling dropping. How was she ever doing to tell Winry what exactly happened to her parents? How was someone supposed to explain that? Alarice decided then and there that for now that Winry didn't need to know the exact details. Alarice would keep the truth buried in her heart and carry the guilt with her in her heart as well. Where it will be locked away…until her last breath.


	5. VERY IMPORTANT! READ!

Coco: Hey, guys, it's me Coco! Obviously XD

Um, well for those of you who don't know, I recently got a new computer because my last one finally gave up on me. And I lost all my precious info, chapters, and outlines on all my stories. So I'm starting fresh with all my stories. I've already started fresh on my FT story if you don't already know. And I feel like I've made a great improvement on it, and I hope to do that with my other stories. So since I lost all my precious previous work (I have learned my lessons with two copies of everything), I'm starting anew with my stories.

I'm sorry for the long wait to those of you who have been waiting for story updates for what seems like forever. And I thank those of you who have been patient with me. Now there are one or two stories that won't get a complete rewrite since there still freshly new, and aren't that far along in their story. Or I feel like I can pick up where I left off. Like my MHA story and my Naruto story, which I'll try to be updating shortly. Work is a little busy though since I'm covering my shifts and the shifts of one of the other girls who is on vacation. However, my own vacation is coming up in June, which is when I hope to get a large portion of this all done.

It is going to take time and a lot of work, so please give me a bit more patience XD I just hope you like what I come up with next and it isn't a disappointment


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